University of Virginia Library

“Cummyn is the nycht, that euery beist on grond
Desiris rest by kynd, and slepis sovnd;
Quhen that the figuris of our goddis blist,
And the Phrigiane Penates, or I wist,
Quhilkis from amyd the fyris of Troy I brocht
Thidder with me, quhar I lay and slepit nocht,
Gan to appeir standyng befor myne eyn:
With ful gret lycht graithly I haue thame seyn,
Quhar as the ful moyn schawing bemys brycht
Inthrou the tyrlyst wyndo schane by nycht.
Than said thai thus, with wordis to asswage
My thochtis and my hevy sad curage:
‘That thing,’ quod thai, ‘quhilk Apollo wald sa
And thou war brocht onto Ortygia,
Heir he the schawis, and eik, as thou may se,
Onrequirit hes send ws hidder to the.
Quhen Troy was brynt, we followit thi prowes,
Vnder thi gward to schip we wss address,
Ourspannand mony swelland seys salt;
And to the starnys eik we sal exalt
The childryn for tocum of thine ofspryng;
Thi cite sal we geif empyre to ryng
Our al the erth. Tharfor to goddis grete
Begyn to graith gret wallis and ryal sete;
Leif not thi langsum lavbour, bot fle away;
This duelling place thou mon change, we the say:
Delyvs Apollo, certis, as thou thocht,
Tocum onto this cost perswadit nocht
Nor chargit neuer in Crete thou suld remane.
A land thar is, in Grekis langage plane
Hesperya clepit, a bald cuntre in weir,
A fructuus grond of corn and richess seir,
By Kyng Onotryvs inhabit first with wyne,
Bot in our days laitly, the fame is syne,
Eftir thar duke it is namyt Italy.
Thar beyn our propir setis and our herbry;
Tharof com Dardane and his brothir Iasyvs,
And from that ilk prince, Schir Dardanus,
Is the discens of our genealogy.
Get vp onone, tel thi ald fader blythly
Thir tythyngis, quhilk beyn trew and certan thing.
Seik to Coryte and Italy the ryng,
For the feildis in Crete neyr Dycteus
Iupiter denyis to granting onto ws.’
Of this visioun estonyst quhar I lay,
And of tha wordis quhilkis the goddis gan say
(For this wes nowthir dreym nor fantasy;
Thar propir vissage befor me stand knew I,
With garlandis and thar cirkillettis on thar hair;
Thar figur saw I present to me thair—
The cald sweit our al my body ran),
Furth of my bed on fute son sprent I than,
And, strekand vp my handis towart hevyn,
Myne oryson I maid with devote stevyn;
A cleyn sacrifyce and offerand maid I syne,
Into the fyris ȝettand senss and wyne.
The serymoneis endit, blyth and glaid
To my fader per ordour al I said
As ȝe haue hard (quhat nedis tell agane?),
And of this mater maid hym ful certane.
Onone he knew our elderis dowtis ilk deill,
And of our clan the dowbill stok full weill:
He grantis the onkouth errour hym dissavit
Of ancyant placis, quhilk he not persavit.
Syne said he, ‘Son, thou irkit art algatis
By the contrarius frawart Troiane fatis;
Now I remembir only quhou Cassandra
Ful oft maid mensioun of Hesperya
And oft als of the realm hait Italy,
Thir materis me declaring by and by.
That land now knaw I destinate to our kyn,
Bot quha wald haue belevit at euer within
The realm of Itail Teucrus blude suld cum?
Or quha wald than, mair than scho had bene dum,
Set by the prophetess wordis Cassandra?
Lat ws obey Phebus, and wend awa
As we bene monyst, follow our chance, but pleys.’
Thus said he, and we glaid al hym obeys:
A few folkis thar left to kepe the town,
This sted alsso leif we, and sail maid bown;
In bowit bargis throu the large streym we slyde.
Quhen sycht of land was tynt on euery syde,
Sa that na cost apperis quhilk we mycht se,
Bot the schippis haldand the deip see,
The hevin abufe and fludis al abowt,
A watry clowd, blak and dyrk but dowt,
Gan tho appeir abone our hed ful rycht,
And down a tempest sent als myrk as nycht.
The streym apperis vgsum of the dym sky;
The wyndis weltris the sey continualy
That huge wallis boldynnys apon loft;
Skatterit widequhar our the fame ful oft
War our schippis, and the brythnes of day,
Inuolvit al with clowdis, hyd away.
The rayn and royk reft from ws sycht of hevin,
The brokkyn skyis rappis furth thunderis levin;
Forswiftit from our richt cowrss, gan we ar
Amang the blynd wallis waverand far.
For Palynurus him self maist expart,
For al his cunnyng of schip man craft and cart,
Amyd the sey forȝet the richt way,
Denyand als that the nycht from the day
He mycht discern be sycht of firmament.
Apon sik wyss oncertanly we went
Thre days wilsum throu the mysty streym,
And als mony nychtis but starnys leym,
That quhiddir was day or nycht oneith wist we.
Bot at the last, on the ferd day we se
On far the land appeir, and hillis ryss,
The smoky vapour vpcasting on thar gyss.
Down fallis salis, the aris sone we span;
But mair abaid, the marineris euery man
Egirly rollis our the fomy flude,
And the haw sey weltis vp as thai war woid.
Salve from the wallis at the costis of Strophe
With al our navy first arryvit we.”